Digital

Updated: on February 11th President Obama signed a law that will give television stations the option to transition to the new digital standard anytime between February 17th and June 12th 2009.


In 2009 there will be a major change in TV braodcasts in
the US, when most over the air television stations will switch over to
digital transmissions (often called DTV). For the TV owner or buyer,
there are basically two things you need to consider. First, will your
TV support the new standard? If you bought it in the past couple of
years, the answer is probably yes. All televisions manufactured after
March 1st 2007 are
required to include a DTV tuner, so most modern LCD, Plasma
or rear
projection TVs will include one. If you purchased your television
before that date, it may not support
digital broadcasts. We recommend you look at your documentation or
contact your manufacturer if you are concerned that your TV does not
support digital broadcasts. For the most part all modern HDTVs will
support the digital standard.

If you determine that your TV does not support digital transmissions
you can purchase a converter box that will allow you to receive
over the air digital signals and convert them to the analog signals
that your TV does support. Digital converter boxes retail for between
$40 to $100 and the federal government is offering a $40 coupon to help
allay the cost of the converters. The coupon does expire after 90 days
so we recommend you don’t get the coupon until you are ready to
purchase a digital converter box.

If you receive your TV over a satellite or cable TV connection, the DTV
changeover won’t affect you. Both of these services will continue to
operate in the same fashion, and you will not require any new
equipment.

To summarize:

1) If you get your TV via cable or satellite you don’t need to worry
about the digital transition.
2) If you have a TV manufactured after March 1st 2007 you don’t need to
worry about the digital transition.
3) If you have an older TV AND you get over the air broadcast TV you
should purchase a converter box to ensure you can receive digital
signals after February 17, 2009.

For more information on the digital TV transition and rebate, see the
FCC’s
site here.